My Saviour
by crimsonpuddle
Summary: A harmless game of Hide and Seek - but inside the TARDIS, is it really that simple? Short one-shot, set series 1, ships Nine/Rose, with no spoilers whatsoever.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who, or any of it's characters/plots... in reality, at least.**

A/N: It's a one-shot! Which means pointless fluffy drivel, in this case. Sorry about the crummy title, too. This was lifted from my (dead) drabble series 'Behind These Walls' and altered slightly to make it better. Now, don't get me wrong, Ten/Rose is my absolute favourite OTP, but I love any Doctor/Rose really, so I thought I'd do some Nine/Rose. And Jack's here too!

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**My Saviour**

"Ro-ose?" the Doctor called, his voice echoing throughout the TARDIS walls. Jack sighed impatiently, rounded the corner, and joined in the hunt.

"Rose?" he yelled as loudly as he could, and the Doctor shot him a disdainful glance. "What?" Jack asked him blankly, but the Doctor merely shook his head resignedly and continued down the corridor.

"Rose?" the Doctor called out again, quickening his pace and turning abruptly into another hallway.

"What?" Jack repeated, not moving. The Doctor backed up to glance around the corner at Jack.

"Well," the Doctor began, "If you hadn't suggested -"

"Oh, so this is my fault?" Jack interrupted loudly, eyebrows raised.

The Doctor walked towards him, stuffed his hands in his pockets and stuck his chin out defiantly. "Basically? Yes."

Jack laughed disbelievingly. "I suggest one tiny little game and suddenly this is _my_ fault?"

"Yes, it _is_ your fault." the Doctor repeated, almost happily, and he turned around and sped back down the corridor, hands still wedged in his pockets. "You suggested it; You're responsible. Glad you understand."

Jack jogged up to him then slowed at the Doctor's side. "You could've said no." he said mischievously, smirking.

The Doctor didn't reply for a second. "And you could've not suggested it." he said finally, and started walking even faster, his hands flashing out at random to open doors in the hope that Rose would be found behind one of them.

- - - - - - -

Rose stumbled in the dim hallway, reached out to grab something in front of her, but found nothing. She breathed in sharply as her ankle caught on something sharp, sending her flying across the floor.

"Ow..." she muttered, wincing, and tried to get up, but her twisted ankle prevented her from standing and forced her down again. "Uh…Doctor?" she called weakly, touching her ankle and feeling something hot and sticky flowing from the fresh, stinging cut on her leg. "Help?"

- - - - - - -

Jack rested against a wall to catch his breath, just as the Doctor quickened his pace again.

"I'm sorry, are we finished?" he asked sarcastically, and Jack stood back up.

"It must've been hours." he retorted, his frustration leaking through.

"Time's relative." was the instant come-back. Jack smiled sardonically but the Doctor didn't smile back like he usually did.

"What is it?" Jack asked, regaining his breath and walking over to his leader.

"Like you said - a long time. This ship -" he patted one of the walls affectionately "- is a lot bigger than it looks, in case you hadn't noticed. And Rose could be anywhere. Yes, she's probably fine. She could be having the time of her life. She could be asleep. Or she could be... hurt." He looked up to Jack, and he knew from the Doctor's expression that this wasn't the time to tease. "Now come on!" he finished irritably, and shot off down the hall at top speed.

- - - - - - -

"Finally!" Rose gasped when the door at the end of the dark corridor opened, letting light spill in from outside. She squinted, her eyes adjusting to the light, but saw two figures standing at the door. "What the hell took you two so long? I could've died!"

They all knew she was joking, but that didn't stop the Doctor from running over to her, making his way almost carelessly past the sharp edge of the table that she had tripped on. He heaved her into his arms and held her to him her like he'd never let go. He sighed with relief and kissed the top of her head caringly. She smiled, blushing slightly, and held onto the Doctor to keep herself from falling.

"Are you okay?" he murmured into her hair. His breath on her neck sent a pleasant shiver down her spine.

She swallowed. "Yeah. Yeah, fine." she muttered, looking down at her ankle, where she could see patches of blood seeping through her jeans. "'S just my ankle."

"We'll get you to the medical room." said the Doctor, and he released her gently, still supporting her with one arm behind her back. She tried to stand on her ankle but it immediately gave way. As she tumbled down, the Doctor caught her and hauled her up again into his arms, and she found herself staring into his eyes dazedly, while trying to ignore the pain shooting through her leg.

He grinned at her, and she smiled back, breathing slowly as if that would stop her screaming from the pain in her leg. She looked into his deep blue eyes - usually hollow and empty - and for the first time, thought she saw a glimmer of light. He looked younger somehow, though the worry lines on his forehead seemed more prominent than ever. The Doctor stared back at her, challenging her to look away, but she held focus firmly, almost teasingly.

There was a cough from the other side of the room and they both turned their heads abruptly. Jack was stood at the door, illuminated by a beam of strong light outside the door, and the Doctor spun round with his arms still around Rose's middle, supposedly keeping her from falling. Jack smirked as the Doctor took a step back and dropped one arm, leaving the other around her waist. Rose wrapped her arm around his shoulder, tried to lean on her bleeding leg, and walked forward a few steps. Finding that she didn't fall over, she continued slowly to the door.

"That's the last time I play Hide 'n Seek with you." Rose said accusingly, pointing a finger at Jack as she limped out the door with the Doctor not far behind.

The Doctor said nothing, and refused to meet Jack's eyes, for his own were trailing after Rose's figure as she walked slowly and carefully down the stairs. He leapt to her just in time to catch her as she fell.

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A/N: Don't worry, I wouldn't really have let Rose fall down the stairs. Review?


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